“I know. I’m trying to make them better, Bambina.” I convince her. My mouth molding to hers again.
God, there isn’t anything that I wouldn’t do for this woman. I’d build her a castle with my own two hands if it would make her smile and keep her safe. I’d give up alcohol. I’d give up technology.
“I know you like taking care of me.” She whispers. “And I like you taking care of me, but … but you know I can take care of myself too. You don’t have to be the knight in shining armor all the time.”
I know that, and I know she wants me to know that she can handle herself just fine because she’s not a child, but being needed is nice. I rub her thigh. “Then maybe you can help me.”
“Oh?”
I show her a few things on the computer, and she points out the changes she’s made that fill in the blanks. She glances at the time and turns my head to kiss her. “You have me for ten more minutes.”
“Not forever?”
“Forever and a day … but Nick and I have a date planned.” She runs her nose over mine. “Maybe we can plan one together.”
“Not as a group?”
“That too. But I think it will be nice for us to spend alone time together.” She pulls at my shirt, drawing me close. “So you get my undivided attention, and I get yours.” A soft kiss. “And you don’t forget why you like me.”
“Love you.” I correct her immediately. “I’m not regressing.”
She beams, then I’m wrapped up in her mouth, licking along with her tongue, sucking her bottom lip, pulling at her as if we can do more than this in my office. I mean, we could technically. We’ve done more in the past, but ten minutes isn’t nearly enough time.
All at once, the door opens, and Neal pops his head in. Because, of course, it’s Neal. Sophie pulls back, looks at him, then kisses my jaw. He clears his throat. “I um … I didn’t realize that ….”
“You should knock next time,” Sophie says, rubbing my exposed chest slowly. “And wait for an answer.”
“Oh. Right. Yeah.” He shuts the door immediately.
I roll my eyes at her, and she kisses my jaw. “Sorry. I should probably go.”
“After asserting your dominance over me?” I let my arms drop. “If you insist.”
She kisses me again and stands. “Date night, soon? We could do a spa … or I could give you a spa treatment.”
“I’ll think about it. As soon as I can get a solid weekend off, I’m yours.” I promise.
She grins. “I love you, Roman.”
“I love you.”
The rest of the day is easy by comparison, especially after seeing Neal’s nervous face when he comes back in. But when I get home, I see Miles waiting at the dining room table. The other guys are there, and I notice that Diana and Sophie just happen to be missing.
I drop into the waiting chair and meet Miles’ eyes. “Good to see you back.”
“Good to be back.” He says. “We have some things to address.”
He goes over work things, getting business straightened away, then exhales. “I’ve had a very long talk with my ex-wife, and we’ve decided to try again, despite everything about Bella and my past coming up. However, I think it will be easier to do that if it’s just the family.”
“Meaning we have to hit the road?” Gunner asks.
“I thought about this a lot,” Miles says. “It’s only because I want to reconnect with Diana, not because of anything else.”
“So not because of what you’ve learned about us and-” Gunner starts.
Miles holds up his hand. “No. Diana and I want to work on our relationship, and I can’t see us doing that with four other guys in the house.”
“So Sophie is going to stay here?” Holden asks.